Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Publisher's Summary: High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace.

Review: From the outside Steven Kerner has it all: big house, beautiful wife and daughter, and prestigious career. From the inside, however, it’s an entirely different story. Steven’s world is falling apart: he’s living in a hotel; his wife is contemplating divorce; and his career requires constant jockeying for position. The harder Steven tries to control his world with his anger the quicker things disintegrate. In the midst of this turmoil, Steven meets Andy Munroe. Andy is an old friend family who once was an important financial executive, but now works in a marina. Through Andy’s friendship Steven is introduced to an assorted cast of characters who meet for lunch at Bo’s Café. These regulars along with Andy offer Steven true friendship and teach him how to accept God’s grace.

Bo’s Café follows Steven’s journey from anger to grace. Through following Steven’s journey the reader learns what living in grace looks like and how to be a real friend. Bo’s Café is an entertaining story with a message that just might change your life.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Publisher's Summary: High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace.

Giveaway Rules: Tomorrow I will be reviewing Bo's Cafe, but today I am giving away FIVE copies of this inspirational book.

First Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entry: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower). NOTE: This extra entry MUST be left in a separate comment or it will not count.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.You must be 18 years of age or older.NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

2) A Walk for Sunshine by Jeff Alt. Amazon.com Review:When Jeff Alt (trail name: "Wrongfoot") first decided to hike the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail, he intended to do it alone. As it turned out, several hundred others walked alongside him. Hiking the AT was a longtime personal goal of Alt's, but as he began to plan his trip he realized that he wanted his effort to somehow serve a greater purpose. So he decided to share the experience by turning his adventure into a fundraiser for the Sunshine Home, a facility in Maumee, Ohio that cares for 850 developmentally disabled residents, including his brother, Aaron, who has cerebral palsy. In the seven months leading up to his walk, Alt focused completely on fundraising and training, eventually raising $16,000 that allowed the home to buy much-needed communication devices, lifts, and walkers. He also inspired an annual fundraiser, "Walk with Sunshine," and is contributing part of the proceeds of his book to the cause.

In addition to finishing, Alt's goal once his feet hit the trail was "to share the spirit for which I was walking" with everyone he met, and this he certainly accomplished. In return, he learned a great deal about life from the colorful characters he encountered on the trail, while countless kind strangers offered "trail magic" in various forms, including food, lodging, and greatly appreciated laundry services. He also received overwhelming support from his family and the residents and staff of Sunshine Home, who helped him through quarter-sized blisters, fatigue, and even self-doubt during his 147-day trek. Charming, inspiring, and often funny, A Walk for Sunshine gives readers a good feel for both the logistics involved in undertaking such a journey and the culture of "thru-hiking" the AT. It's also a moving reminder that "living your dream is one thing, but sharing it lets everyone live it with you." --Shawn Carkonen

5) Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. From The New Yorker: The endurance of love animates this gothic story set in and around Highgate Cemetery, in London. When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her estate, including an apartment overlooking the graveyard, to the twin daughters of her twin sister, from whom she has been estranged for twenty years. When Valentina and Julia show up to claim their inheritance, they soon discover that Elspeth is still in residence, in ghostly form. Niffenegger’s writing can be wearyingly overblown, but she has a knack for taking the romantic into the realm of creepiness, and she constructs a taut mystery around the secrets to be found in Elspeth’s diaries and the lengths to which she will go to reunite with her younger lover. It’s no small achievement that the revelations are both organic and completely unexpected.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster.

6) How to Catch and Keep a VampireAmazon Product Description: Who needs a book on dating a vampire? Well, Bella Swan and Sookie Stackhouse to name just two. They are fortunate to have vampire boyfriends. But what the heroines of Twilight and True Blood don't have and could use is some advice on getting along with them. Everything they and every other red-blooded American girl (and guy) wants to know about finding a dreamy blood-drinker and keeping him is within How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: A Step-by-Step Guide to Loving The Bad and the Beautiful. And who better to introduce mortal readers to the world of dating a 21st century vampire than a few mouth-watering immortals? The cast includes: Ethan, with his aquamarine eyes and supernaturally seductive piano playing. Mordred, classically cruel, dark, and handsome, with a thing for black leather gloves. His entrancingly cute carrot-topped friend Adam, as sweet as Mordred is scary. Gunnar, with his rich, golden hair, and dastardly but delightful knack for getting his way. The experienced and fascinating Colin, with his exquisite latte-colored skin and exotic beauty. The eccentric but gorgeous Aidan, purveyor of ancient magic. And enigmatic Conner, with his deep, dark eyes and protective soul. These undead charmers will win the hearts and minds of readers everywhere, and author Diana Laurence will be their expert guide.

7) Over the Gap by Dave Patterson. Product Description:An advanced career change, planning, and outplacement handbook for transitioning executives and professionals. Includes assessments, interactive tools, special bonuses and more. Facing layoff or a career change? Over the Gap shares a wealth of timely, practical specifics for standing out from the crowd, assessing your market value, and tracking your progress. This step-by-step process also includes up to 90 minutes of free coaching and assessment with a certified career coach to help focus your efforts and launch your career change. Over the Gap offers: • A proven, systematic process to ensure your success • Career planning, target marketing, tracking, and soft skills enhancement • Interactive forms and networking strategies • Personalized programs, free resources and one-on-one coaching • Branding and personal value proposition development • A money-saving alternative to corporate severance packages "Beyond the search for a new job, Over the Gap introduces a career transition process, complete with powerful tools and concrete examples, which provides a roadmap and a bridge to new career opportunities." Helen Crompton, LPC, NCC Licensed Practicing Counselor, Nationally-Certified Career Counselor and Executive Coach.

The wonderful Yvette at True Crime Book Reviews gave me this award last month. I love reading Yvette's blog not only for the thoughtful true crime reviews, but also because she's a pretty terrific person! Thank you Yvette!

The Rules:

This award was started by Bookin With BINGO and here are the rules:This "B-I-N-G-O" BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARD means that this blog is...

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Today starts Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read which has observed every year since 1982 during the last week of September. Some notable banned books include: George Orwell's Animal Farm; The Diary of Ann Frank; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, James Joyce's Ulysses and many, many more great works. Check out the banned books list. Better still read a banned book!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Author's Summary: In this collection of stories, Midge Raymond stretches the boundaries of place as she explores the indelible imprint of home upon the self and the ways in which new frontiers both defy and conﬁrm who we are.

From a biologist navigating the stark, icy moonscape of Antarctica to a businesswoman seeking refuge in the lonely islands of the South Paciﬁc, the characters in these stories abandon their native landscapes only to ﬁnd that, once separated from the ordinary, they must confront new interpretations of who they are, and who they’re meant to be.

Review:Forgetting English by Midge Raymond is an exquisite thematic collection of short stories. The stories describe women in exterior and interior transit. The characters face a myriad of crossroads such as, divorce, infidelity, unemployment, abortion, and attempted suicide while a moonlight mile from home.

Each story deftly details the characters’ impact and adaptation to their foreign surroundings. Raymond’s masterful prose transports the reader to various locales including Antarctica, Japan, and Tonga to name a few. Similarly, the author’s keen insights into matters of the psyche gave this reader much to ponder after each story’s coda. Every story in the collection is a like a fine chocolate to be savored, but I especially enjoyed the lyrical prose in “Translation Memory.”

The mixture of characters in crisis in exotic locales made for highly enjoyable reading!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Summary from Author's Website: Your busy mom lifestyle dictates quick get-on-the table meals, but how do you prepare and cook a delicious meal at the end of your busy day when you are simply out of time and energy?

Jane Doiron helps you, a very busy mom like herself, to put a fabulous dinner on the table every night for friends, or just for the family, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor.

Jane's goal was to seek out main dish, family-favorite recipes that could be make ahead meals without sacrificing the food’s taste and texture by freezing. After years of home-testing recipes, Jane has compiled this must-have cookbook with specific make-ahead directions. In addition, Jane includes her best recipes for clever side dishes, flavorful appetizers and luscious desserts. Imagine opening your freezer to pick out a family-favorite appetizer, main dish, or dessert, and all you have to do is thaw and heat it!

Make-ahead meals are a healthy and economical alternative to take-out and preservative filled, pre-packaged foods. With make ahead meal planning, you are making fewer trips to the grocery store, and saving money otherwise spent on unhealthy, take-out and fast foods. It’s simple. Give yourself a break during the hectic weeknights with Jane’s make-ahead meal recipes. Spend the time that you save outside of the kitchen doing something that you enjoy.

Review: How many times has your family succumbed to the “OMG its 5:30 pm and I don’t have time to make dinner” drive thru blues? Unfortunately, this scenario reoccurs regularly at my house. Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms by Jane Doiron is premised on the idea that with a little preplanning on-the-go families can enjoy meals that are quick, tasty, economical, and light years more nutritious than the typical take out fare.

The recipes in Make-Ahead Meals appear simple to make and are a mixture of freeze-and-bake; preassemble-and-cook the next day; and cook-and-reheat. I particularly enjoyed the cookbook’s freeze-ahead recipes and tips. For instance, I am now following Doiron’s advice to keep the freezer stocked with frozen marinated meats (e.g. Teriyaki Chicken or Thai Chicken Thighs) for quick dinners. Holiday bakers will also appreciate Doiron’s freezable cookie dough recipes (e.g. Big Ginger Cookies, Macadamia Nut Cookies etc.). Less helpful, however, were the recipes that simply called for the dish to be served the next day (e.g. Angel Food Cake). While these recipes sounded delicious too, they did not fit into the “make-ahead” mold. Also, apart from the cover photos, Make-Ahead Meals does not contain any pictures. While the lack of photos does not diminish from the cookbook’s usefulness, it should be noted if you are a cook that likes/needs photos.

Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page I'm participating in the Mailbox Monday round up. This week I received the following review copies:1) Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms by Jane Doiron: Product DescriptionMake Ahead meals are not just for Moms who work outside of the home. It's a way of cooking that helps all families, big and small. It all comes down to a little planning. Make a meal or two in advance when you have some extra time. Then you'll be rewarded with quick, delicious home-cooked meals when you really need them!

Thanks to the author.

2) Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado: Product Description:As head of her celebrity sister’s production company, Gesine Bullock-Prado had a closet full of designer clothes and the ear of all the influential studio heads, but she was miserable. The only solace she found was in her secret hobby: baking. With every sugary, buttery confection to emerge from her oven, Gesine took one step away from her glittery, empty existence—and one step closer to her true destiny. Before long, she and her husband left the trappings of their Hollywood lifestyle behind, ending up in Vermont, where they started the gem known as Gesine Confectionary. And they never looked back. Confections of a Closet Master Baker follows Gesine's journey from sugar-obsessed child to miserable, awkward Hollywood insider to reluctant master baker. Chock-full of eccentric characters, beautifully detailed descriptions of her baking process, ceaselessly funny renditions of Hollywood nonsense, and recipes, the ingredients of her story will appeal to anyone who has ever considered leaving the life they know and completely starting over.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Publisher's Summary: To be sure, some brothers and sisters have relationships that are easy. But oh, some relationships can be fraught. Confusing, too: How can two people share the same parents and turn out to be entirely different?

Marie Brenner’s brother, Carl—yin to her yang, red state to her blue state—lived in Texas and in the apple country of Washington state, cultivating his orchards, polishing his guns, and (no doubt causing their grandfather Isidor to turn in his grave) attending church, while Marie, a world-class journalist and bestselling author, led a sophisticated life among the “New York libs” her brother loathed.

From their earliest days there was a gulf between them, well documented in testy letters and telling photos: “I am a textbook younger child . . . training as bête noir to my brother,” Brenner writes. “He’s barely six years old and has already developed the Carl Look. It’s the expression that the rabbit gets in Watership Down when it goes tharn, freezes in the light.”

After many years apart, a crisis pushed them back into each other’s lives. Marie temporarily abandoned her job at Vanity Fair magazine, her friends, and her husband to try to help her brother. Except that Carl fought her every step of the way. “I told you to stay away from the apple country,” he barked when she showed up. And, “Don’t tell anyone out here you’re from New York City. They’ll get the wrong idea.”

As usual, Marie—a reporter who has exposed big Tobacco scandals and Enron—irritated her brother and ignored his orders. She trained her formidable investigative skills on finding treatments to help her brother medically. And she dug into the past of the brilliant and contentious Brenner family, seeking in that complicated story a cure, too, for what ailed her relationship with Carl. If only they could find common ground, she reasoned, all would be well.

Brothers and sisters, Apples and Oranges. Marie Brenner has written an extraordinary memoir—one that is heartbreakingly honest, funny and true. It’s a book that even her brother could love.

Review: It started when Cain slew his brother Abel. Ever since these Biblical brothers duked it out, siblings throughout the ages have been at war with each other. Of course, not every sibling relationship is one of rivalry. There are countless siblings who are hand-in-glove simpatico. Apples and Oranges: My Brother and Me, Lost and Found by Marie Brenner, however, is not a symbiotic sibling love letter, but rather a détente treaty.

“Apples and oranges” is how their mother described them. On the surface, this assessment seems apt. Carl was a green tea sipping, gun-toting, right-wing, Texan apple farmer. Marie, in comparison, is a Starbucks quaffing, New Yorker who writes for Vanity Fair and other elite publications. As she states, “Our relationship is like a tangled fishing line. We are defined by each other and against each other, a red state and a blue state, yin and yang.” For decades this was the state of their relationship: deep love buried underneath a surface of anger, misunderstandings, and harsh words. However, when Carl is diagnosed with terminal cancer Marie rushes to his side to try and save him and their relationship.

Apples and Oranges is clearly written through Marie’s prism. This partly inevitable as she is the author and partly due to Carl’s meticulous eradication of his notes and letters. At certain points in the memoir I questioned Marie’s assessment of her brother. For example, when Carl sought “‘a hard-working individual’” to manage his apple farm, Marie characterized “the ad [as having] . . . the social skills of a blowtorch.” Some readers, however, might simply describe Carl’s ad as plain-spoken. Still Marie does not spare herself in this memoir and is candid about her own shortcomings.

The memoir is strongest when the relationship between Carl and Marie is front and center. The parallel story of the Brenner family history, while notable and worthy of its own tome, was often distracting. Similarly, the passages concerning the history of apples in America did not move the primary story forward, except to demonstrate Marie’s devotion to finding a common ground with her brother.

When the spotlight shines on Marie and Carl’s relationship, Apples and Oranges is a compelling read. Few memoirs are as authentic as the passage below:

I love you more than anyone . . . . You are my brother. We are Brenners. Team Carl.There is no epiphany. There are no final words.Don’t leave me, he says. Tears run down his cheeks. I am sorry for everything.

Apples and Oranges is a lot like real life: messy, complicated, and worth savoring every second.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Summary from Author's Website. “Maybe between the two of us we can trick me into being honest with you.” A collage of notes written in a sixth-floor men’s room, The Sum of His Syndromes is the story of a slightly disturbed young man who has found himself at a personal and professional crossroads. There is a job he doesn’t want, a girl he does, and a friend who is writing a book. If it weren’t for the wise counsel of his therapist, the anomalous Dr. C, who knows what might have happened.

2008 Oregon Book Award Finalist

Review. Alvy Singer, the neurotic Woody Allen character in Annie Hall, joked "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." Apparently, neither does David, the protagonist and narrator in The Sum of His Syndromes by K.B. Dixon. The story unfolds through the novel’s unusual format -- notes scribbled from the sixth floor men’s room. David is a depressed young man in a dead-end job and a loving relationship that he is convinced is doomed to end. In an attempt to treat his depression and assorted neuroses he seeks treatment from the pill pushing psychiatrist Dr. C.

The notes range from hysterical, to insightful, to the common, but are never banal. Here are few gems:

“Swanson’s philosophy is ‘things will work out;’ mine is they won’t.”

“One thing I can tell you for sure: I’m nobody’s first choice.”

“I have no doubt my view is distorted – maybe even as distorted as yours. So what are we going to do about it?”

“Even if you’re right Dr. C, you shouldn’t be. I’m going to try not to listen.”

“I wish I were here because I had a cough or runny nose, but I’m not. I’m here because I am alone and insignificant and the chances are that one of these days I’m going to die. I know you can’t do anything about that, but it’s fun for awhile to pretend.”

“I know to some degree I’m supposed to fall apart in here so that when we put me back together I’m arranged in a better way. But how much am I supposed to fall apart – too much and all we’ve got is trouble on our hands.”

And most poignantly: “If I could live a different sort of life, I would be somebody else.”

Don’t be fooled by the novel’s slender size and abbreviated note format. The Sum of His Syndromes is literary poetry on the page.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Publisher's Summary. The Boatwrights just won 318 million dollars in the Georgia State lottery. It's going to be the worst day of their lives.

When Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko pull up at a convenience store off I-95 in Georgia, their only thought is to fix a leaky tire and be on their way again to Florida-away from their dull Ohio tech-support jobs. But this happens to be the store from which a 318,000,000 million dollar Jackpot ticket has just been sold -- and when a pretty clerk accidentally reveals to Shaw the identity of the winning family, he hatches a ferociously audacious scheme: He and Romeo will squeeze the family for half their prize.

That night, he visits the Boatwright home and takes the family hostage, while Romeo patrols the streets nearby, prepared to murder the Boatwrights' loved ones at any sign of resistance. At first, the family offers none. But Shaw's plot depends on maintaining constant fear-merciless, unfaltering terror-and soon, under the pressure, everyone's sanity begins to unravel . . .

At once frightening, comic, and suspenseful, RAVENS is a wholly original and utterly compelling novel from one of our most talented writers.

Giveaway Rules: Today I am giving away this suspenseful book. You can see my review of Ravens here. Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group, I have the opportunity to give away THREE copies of the audiobook Ravens!

First Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entry: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower). NOTE: This extra entry MUST be left in a separate comment or it will not count.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.You must be 18 years of age or older.NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page I'm participating in the Mailbox Monday round up. This week I received the following review copies:

1) Friends Like These by Danny Wallace: Product DescriptionDanny Wallace has friends. He has a wife and goes to brunch, and his new house has a couch with throw pillows. But as he nears 30, he can't help wondering about his best childhood friends, whose names he finds in a long-forgotten address book. Where are they now-and where, really, is he?

Acting on an impulse we've all had at least once, he travels from London to Berlin, Tokyo, Australia, and California, risking rejection and ridicule to show up on his old pals' doorsteps. Memories of his 1980s childhood-from Michael Jackson to Ghostbusters-overwhelm him as he meets former buddies who have blossomed into rappers and ninjas, time-traveling pioneers, mediocre restaurant managers, and even Fijian royalty.

Danny's attempt to re-befriend them all gives remarkable new resonance to the age-old mantra, "friends forever!"

3) Bo's Cafe by John Lynch et. al.Product DescriptionHigh-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace.

4) Alice I have Been by Melanie BenjaminProduct DescriptionFew works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.

But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?

Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.

That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.

For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.

A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.

Thanks to Shelf Awareness.

5) Dead Weight by Batt HumphreysProduct DescriptionIn one of America's most beautiful cities, an ugly crime has been committed. Based on events that took place in Charleston, South Carolina a hundred years ago; Dead Weight tells the story of the murder of a Jewish merchant, the black man accused of the murder and the white populace primed for a hanging. Into these real events, steps a fictional character. A reporter from New York is assigned to cover a story with would seem to be a fait accompli. The outsider's view of Charleston just after the turn of the century, still clinging to a cultural past and caught in the racial realities of the time, brings a Menckenesque perspective to a plot that is anything but a simple tale of racial wrongdoing.

Through the narration of Hal Hinson, we see the beauty of Charleston, the ugliness of the racial divide and a struggle, through the transcripts of actual court testimony, between two lawyers for the life of a man accused of murder. The reader also comes to know the real character of the accused - Daniel Cornelius "Nealy" Duncan who was the last man hanged by the state of South Carolina.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

I read in many places – in line at the grocery checkout; in assorted doctors’ and dentists’ offices; and in the car (audiobooks only) – but the bulk of my reading is done while riding to work. Fortunately, my commuter vehicle is a luxury bus equipped with adjustable, cushioned seats and individual lights. My fellow riders are also, generally, considerate of others, so silence reigns supreme. In short, my daily commute is a veritable readers’ paradise. However, I do admit that only a small percentage of my co-commuters share my reading passion. My fellow passengers are a decidedly high tech crowd with assorted Ipods/Itouchs, Blackberries, Netbooks, Notebooks, and an occasional Kindle. The digital screen is king on my bus!

Below the streets of New York City, however, a lower-tech scene flourishes according to the New York Times. Books, magazines, and newspapers are the dominant entertainment of choice. Apparently, this is due in part to the lack of internet or cellphone access on most subway trains. Still there is more to this story. My personal experience riding the New York rails has convinced me that unless you’re a hundred pound waif whose idea of reading bliss is being sandwiched between others; the New York subway system is far from an idyllic reading environment. And yet, as observed in the article, despite the noise, lack of seats, and general urban chaos, reading thrives underground. There is even a Subway Book Club Blog dedicated to what other riders are reading.

So to the Big Apple riders with the ink stained hands journeying to boroughs near and far, I salute you!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Publisher's Summary. The Boatwrights just won 318 million dollars in the Georgia State lottery. It's going to be the worst day of their lives.

When Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko pull up at a convenience store off I-95 in Georgia, their only thought is to fix a leaky tire and be on their way again to Florida-away from their dull Ohio tech-support jobs. But this happens to be the store from which a 318,000,000 million dollar Jackpot ticket has just been sold -- and when a pretty clerk accidentally reveals to Shaw the identity of the winning family, he hatches a ferociously audacious scheme: He and Romeo will squeeze the family for half their prize.

That night, he visits the Boatwright home and takes the family hostage, while Romeo patrols the streets nearby, prepared to murder the Boatwrights' loved ones at any sign of resistance. At first, the family offers none. But Shaw's plot depends on maintaining constant fear-merciless, unfaltering terror-and soon, under the pressure, everyone's sanity begins to unravel . . .

At once frightening, comic, and suspenseful, RAVENS is a wholly original and utterly compelling novel from one of our most talented writers.

Review. Winning the mega-million jackpot lottery is for most people a far fetched dream. It is fun, however, to daydream about how one would spend the money. Winning the jackpot can also be a winners' worst nightmare. Still I can't recall a family that was subjected to a more terrorizing experience than the Boatwrights in George Dawes Green's Ravens.

If you don’t accept the existence of the Stockholm Syndrome then you will probably be incredulous of the behavior of the Boatwright family in Ravens. Objectively, there are several windows of opportunity in the novel where the Boatwrights, the family held captive by Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko, could have fled their captors or exposed them. To understand why they didn’t one must, in part, accept that the Stockholm Syndrome exists.

The recent liberation of Jaycee Duggard, who was held captive for 18 years and apparently bore children fathered by the male alleged captor, appears to be yet the latest victim of the Stockholm Syndrome. Patty Hearst is another famous example of a victim who bonded with her captors. While we all like to think that we would have done better and why didn’t these victims just flee when they had a few minutes alone, the Stockholm Syndrome is a real psychological malady.

Another factor why the Boatwright family remained under the thumbs of their captors is the character Shaw McBride. He is portrayed as a messianic figure along the lines of Jim Jones. With pledges to give away his millions and words of love, McBride garners a flock of apostles including to varying degrees the Boatwrights.

Ravens is an edge of the seat thriller that won’t disappoint (so long as you accept certain premises).

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

Review. FDR famously declared that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” In today’s world, however, with 24 hour news and the omnipresent internet it often seems like there is no escape from fear. Fear inhibits us from being the person God created us to be. Who would we be without our constant companion, fear, and what does God have to say about fear? Those who are seeking answers to these questions will be well rewarded by reading Fearless by Max Lucado.

The premise behind Fearless is that “we can fear less tomorrow than we do today.” With the Word as a guide Max Lucado in Fearless explores the Bible’s teachings on fear. Specifically, Lucado identifies 14 fears and the scriptures’ response. Fearless concludes with the powerful example of William Farris, a seven year old West African boy, who composed a psalm-like prayer while witnessing all of his family’s possessions disintegrate in flames. If a little boy can rely on God’s promises to be fearless in the face of such adversity can’t we also put our trust in Him?

Monday, September 7, 2009

Publisher's Summary. In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter? Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie? What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?

NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring--because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

Giveaway Rules: Today I am giving away this thought provoking book. You can see my review of NutureShock here. Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group, I have the opportunity to give away THREE copies of the audiobook NutureShock!

Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count. That's it one comment -- simple and easy entry.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.You must be 18 years of age or older.NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

According to the Houston Chronicle: “There'll be no carhops on roller skates. And if you're hankering for a burger and fries, forget it. But if it's food for the mind you crave — books, music or movies — staffers at some of the Houston Public Library's most congested branches will be happy to deliver your order right to your car.” Apparently, the curbside delivery is an effort to address parking scarcity at various branches and to stay in touch with the pace with modern living.

The article explains that, “library patrons first reserve books or other materials via the Internet. When notified by e-mail that the items are ready for pickup, users simply cruise to the library, cell phone a librarian and supply library card numbers, the names of items desired and descriptions of their cars.”

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Author Biography from Publisher. Pat Williams is senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, an NBA team he cofounded in 1987. Pat has been involved in professional sports for forty-five years and has been affiliated with NBA teams in Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, including the 1983 World Champion Philadelphia 76ers. He is one of America's top motivational and inspirational speakers and the author of thirty-five books. Pat and his wife, Ruth, live in Winter Park, Florida. They have nineteen children, including fourteen adopted from four foreign countries, ranging in age from twenty-one through thirty-five.

Review. Michelangelo did not paint the Sistine Chapel! Not alone anyway. When he was commissioned by Pope Julius II to execute an Extreme Dream -- painting the Sistine Chapel – he became a master delegator. And so goes one of the many illustrative anecdotes in Extreme Dreams Depends on Teams by Pat Williams. To accomplish the mission Michelangelo led a team of thirteen artists and two hundred crewmen! According to Williams, “Michelangelo sought out the best artists and craftsmen . . . paid them well . . . praised excellent work . . . demanded that everything be done his way – yet encouraged his assistants to add their own artistic flourishes to his creation. Some sections are clearly the work of Michelangelo’s hand. Others . . . are believed to be almost entirely the work of assistants . . . .” In short, what Michelangelo possessed, in addition to artistic genius, were excellent leadership skills and a dream team.

Like the former coach that he is, Williams coaches us (the readers) on the key to achieving big dreams: skillful leadership of a synergistic team. After years of study, Williams has determined the “seven sides of leadership:” Vision; Communication Skills; People Skills; Character; Competence; Boldness; and Servanthood.

A great leader, however, is only as good as the team he leads. And what makes a great team? According to Williams a great team is a committed team: to each other and to a singular goal. A committed team respects and trusts each other and works together to lift up individual members so that collectively they achieve what no one individual can. How does one acquire this dream team? By recruiting talented people and empowering them (to succeed and to make mistakes!). Empowerment, Williams explains, is achieved by: 1) expressing belief in people; 2) listening to them; 3) building others up; 4) not demeaning them; 5) being truthful; 6) saying thank you; 7) giving meaningful praise; and 8) providing occasional encouragement.

Extreme Dreams is an entertaining and enlightening book for both leaders and their teams!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Summary by Publisher. In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter? Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie? What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?

NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring--because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

Review. Every so often a book is published that dominates the conversation on a particular topic and changes the conventional wisdom. NutureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman is such a tide-changing tome. It will set parents’ (and others’) tongues wagging for years to come.

NutureShock handily demonstrates, by dissecting the latest scientific studies, why so many “in vogue” ideas of childrearing are wrong at best and detrimental at worst. Few sacred cows of modern parenting are left intact and untouched. For instance, frequent, general, praise, does not promote children’s self esteem, but rather hinders it. Nor do intelligence tests accurately reflect intellect in young children. And perhaps most astonishingly, the best child liars may also be the most socialized and well liked of children.

Reading each chapter in NutureShock was like firing at the shooting range where the targets being taken out were sacred parenting beliefs. It was both enjoyable and a little disturbing when I realized how wrong a lot of my core parenting values were. Still I think I am a better parent for having read NutureShock and you will be too!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Today I am pleased to be posting my first guest article by the author of Bending Towards the Sun A Mother and Daughter Memoir (look for my review in the upcoming weeks): Leslie Gilbert-Lurie. author of Bending Towards the Sun (look for my review in the upcoming weeks).

Why Remember? By Leslie Gilbert-Lurie Author of Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir

September of this year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. There is no agreed upon moment, however, when the Holocaust began. Some date it to Hitler's coming to power in 1933. Others mark the onset to Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, in November of 1938. Since the Holocaust was undeniably a component of World War II, however, it seems fair to say that next month also marks the anniversary of its inception.

It is clear why we note the beginning of World War II. We won. The forces of good beat the axis of evil, and the "best generation" came home victorious. Less obvious is why it's important to mark the anniversary of the Holocaust. Why continue to look back at one of humankind's bleakest moments? There were no winners and far too few heroes. Isn't it enough that some of us have read Anne Frank's diary or seen Schindler's List? I think not. In the course of writing and teaching about the Holocaust, I have discovered that the Holocaust is rich in lessons to sustain our humanity.

The Holocaust is a cautionary tale about leaders and cowards, heroes and victims. In examining it, we delve into the darkest parts of ourselves and reflect upon how we might have acted, what we could have done, had we been present. Would we have taken a job in the Nazi Party if we were unemployed? Would we have followed orders at work in order to get promoted? Would we have risked our own lives, or those of family members, in order to hide or protect others? Would we have spoken up in the face of injustice? The Holocaust provides an opportunity for each of us to consider how we would or should act the next time we see others robbed of their fundamental rights.

The Holocaust is also an enlightening tale about political systems and a horror story about the abuses of power. Adolf Hitler took office in a democracy which, at its core, was similar to the one in which we feel so safe today. In the blink of an eye, he converted his government into a totalitarian regime, in which all oaths were pledged to him. Overnight, Hitler began eviscerating the rights of the communists, the homosexuals, the disabled, the gypsies, the Catholics, and of course, the Jews. What does this tell us about the ability of a democracy to protect the rights of vulnerable minorities? Lest we forget that our own democracy, not so long ago, tolerated slavery. It also endorsed euthanasia for the disabled and forbade women from voting. Those educated in the abuses of power that took place leading up to and during the Holocaust will be better equipped to vigilantly protect the democratic values we so treasure today in our own country.

In our country, education is cherished. It is viewed as a ticket to success and key to a civilized, informed society. Authors, politicians, and educators espouse the importance of American youth studying hard, in part to compete with industrious students around the world. Yet at the same time, we must keep in mind that the Hall of Shame from the Holocaust was filled with doctors, engineers, and lawyers. Without judgment and compassion, without an awareness of the dangers of following orders without reflection, we are just one election, evil leader, or disastrous economic cycle away from another Weimar Republic of the early 1930's. We must teach our children to be thoughtful, proactive citizens. In learning about the Holocaust, students can see where a past generation failed and what role they will play in the tragedies of their own generation.

Today, in Sudan's Darfur region, another ethnic cleansing is taking place. The Janjaweed militia, supported by the Sudanese government, is systematically murdering the region's black tribes. Outside Darfur, in other parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, strife and violence are rampant. Both World War I and World War II taught us that under the stresses of war, prejudices are often heightened.

In 1915, not long after the start of World War I, authorities in the Muslim Ottoman Empire turned against the Armenians, a Christian minority that had lived for generations within the region. The world politely turned away as a million or more Armenians were massacred over the next eight years. Our country, along with many others, again looked the other way, over and over again, as Hitler's campaign ramped up in the 1930's. In 1936, at the summer Olympics in Berlin, for example, not only did the United States agree to attend the games, but coaches from this country pulled two Jewish runners from the relay team at the eleventh hour, at least in part so as not to offend Hitler. In 1939, intellectuals in our country and throughout Europe passively looked on as Jewish professors were unceremoniously fired from the University of Frankfurt, the most liberal university in Germany. And again, that same year, over 900 Jewish men, women, and children aboard the ship the St. Louis, after desperately fleeing Nazi Europe and arriving on the shores of Cuba, were denied entry not only in that country but also in the United States, and forced to turn back. Each of these events emboldened Hitler. He had good reason to believe that the world's leaders would not object to his gross violation of human rights. Yes, some individuals spoke up. And sometimes, when they did, lives were spared. But mostly we were a world of bystanders, paving the way for many more bystanders over the six ensuing years of the Holocaust. Studying the Holocaust helps each of us to comprehend the downside of being a bystander, or of acting at the eleventh hour, rather than at the first opportunity. It makes us better prepared to be good, humane citizens in today's world.

The Holocaust occurred not so long ago and in a land not so far away. As the seventy-year anniversary approaches, we are in a race against time. When young people today hear a Holocaust survivor speak, they are bearing witness to that which their own children are never likely to experience the same way. And as the voices of the Holocaust survivors quiet, those of the ones who insist that the Holocaust never happened will grow louder and, perhaps, more persuasive. To continue to mark its existence, to study its implications, is to honor its victims and better protect humankind in the future. As we vow that such a tragedy will not occur again, we must remember that there is an awful lot of suffering taking place in the world this very moment.

Author BioLeslie Gilbert-Lurie, author of Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir, is a writer, lawyer, teacher, child advocate, and a member and past President of the Los Angeles County Board of Education. Gilbert-Lurie also is a founding board member and immediate past President of the Alliance for Children's Rights, a non-profit legal rights organization for indigent children, chair of the education committee for the Los Angeles Music Center, and a board member of several schools including Sierra Canyon and New Roads Foundation. Finally, she has just completed serving as a member of the mayor's task force charged with developing a new cultural plan for the City of Los Angeles. Previously, Leslie spent close to a decade as an executive at NBC, where, at various times, she oversaw NBC Productions, Comedy, wrote television episodes, and co-founded a new NBC in-house production company, Lurie-Horwits productions. As a lawyer, Leslie worked briefly at the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Tunney and served as a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Law Clerk. She is a graduate of UCLA and UCLA School of Law.Leslie lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, daughter and step-son.For more information please visit http://www.bendingtowardthesun.com/

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